Seminole version 1.0

Stren Series’ first visit to famed South Georgia impoundment begins Wednesday

BAINBRIDGE, Ga. – Every year the Stren Series Southeast Division holds a tournament somewhere on the Chattahoochee River chain of lakes, usually on Eufaula or West Point or both.

This year, however, the Stren Series has decided to make a stop on Lake Seminole, the last lake on the Chattahoochee chain.

Though Lake Seminole has been a popular stop on the Wal-Mart BFL schedule over the years, this is the first time the Stren Series has ever sampled its waters.

At about 37,500 acres in size, Seminole is located on the borders of Florida, Georgia and Alabama at the convergence of the Flint and Chattahoochee rivers.

Seminole’s fertile waters are filled with bass-fishing cover: standing timber, stumps, flats, humps, ledges, docks and, of course, the lake’s most famous cover, a variety of vegetation ranging from hyacinths to hydrilla.

A common complaint among anglers who fish Seminole for the first time is that there is just too much cover – every square foot of the lake looks like it could hold a bass.

As a result, the fishing options are vast and varied. From cranking outside grass lines in the main lake to flipping hyacinths along the rivers to Carolina rigging and drop-shotting creek channels to jerkbaiting the back ponds – there is no shortage of ways to fish on this well-known lake.

Seminole is especially known for its springtime sight-fishing, when spawning bass fan obvious beds on sandbars in gin-clear water. But spawning won’t be a factor this week. A recent drop in water temperature into the 50-degree range is going to challenge Stren Series anglers.

Many pros see the event shaping up into a flipping-versus-drop-shotting battle.

“Most guys are either drop-shotting deep water over in Spring Creek or flipping the shallow, matted grass along the banks,” noted pro J.T. Kenney of Daytona Beach, Fla., a well-known grass-flipping expert. “You know what I’ll be doing. Five of the right flips into thick mats on this lake can make you well in a hurry.”

Other well-known flippers including Billy Bowen of Ocala, Fla., who has won a BFL Regional on Seminole, and Glenn Browne, also of Ocala, were wearing wry grins at the pretournament meeting.

And while flipping heavy cover will certainly produce big for anglers this week, it will be interesting to see how long the shallow bite can last. Seminole is famous for producing big strings one day and doling out a bunch of goose eggs the next. Flipping for four days in a row could be a risky proposition.

Those fishing deeper water are hoping their bite will be more consistent. Some banking on the deep bite contend that given the cumulative weight format of the Stren Series, 12 to 13 pounds per day could be the winning ticket.

Logistics

Anglers will take off from Bainbridge Earl May Boat Basin located at 100 Basin Circle in Bainbridge, Ga., at 7:30 EST each morning. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins will also be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 500 E. Alice St. in Bainbridge beginning at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.

Pros will fish for a top award of $25,000 plus a $40,000 519VX Ranger powered by an Evinrude or Yamaha outboard and equipped with a Minn Kota trolling motor, Lowrance electronics and EverStart batteries if contingency guidelines are met. Ranger will award another $3,000 to the winner if he or she is a participant in the Ranger Cup program. If the winner is not a Ranger Cup participant, Ranger will award $1,500 to the highest-finishing participant in the contingency program. Yamaha will match 50 percent of Ranger Cup earnings if “Powered by Yamaha” guidelines are met.

Co-anglers will cast for a top award of $5,000 plus a $30,000 Ranger boat and trailer if contingency guidelines are met.

Wednesday’s conditions

Sunrise: 7:29 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 42 degrees

Expected high temperature: 55 degrees

Water temperature: 48-52 degrees

Forecasted winds: NE at 5 to 10 mph

Day’s outlook: mix of clouds and sun